Sliding door lock



1 E. E. SPORK 3,012,430

SLIDING DOOR LOCK Filed Aug. 27, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 12, 1961 Filed Aug. 2'7, 1959 2 Sheets-sheaf; 2

IZ 37 38 -22 12 36 47 \15 p 13 35 4 12 l lllmflfi lllm 3 5? s 'a I 11 m E'MLHWE 53351 1 United States Patent 3,012,430 SLIDING DOOR LOCK Erwin Edward Spork, 115 Bonney Ave., Clayfield, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Filed Aug. 27, 1959, Ser. No. 836,364 2 Claims. (Cl. 7ll99) This invention relates to a sliding door lock.

The invention has for its principal object the provision of a very simple yet effective sliding door lock which may be used to advantage on domestic or other sliding doors.

Cther objects of the invention are to provide a lock of this character which may be simply and inexpensively manufactured; may be easily and conveniently fitted to a sliding door, and which is adapted to be latched from the inside, after which it may be released from the outside only by the use of a key.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention resides broadly in a lock for a sliding door including a lock housing adapted to be secured to the leading stile of a sliding door; a bolt mounted in vertically slidable manner at the front of the locking housing; springloading means adapted to urge the bolt in one direction to operative position at which the bolt is adapted to engage a striker plate mounted at a side of the door opening, when the door is brought to closed position, to hold the door closed; and a handle, mounted on the lock housing, operatively connected to the bolt and adapted to be moved to move the bolt to inoperative position. Other features of the invention will become apparent from the following description.

In order that a preferred embodiment of the invention may be readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a lock according to the invention fitted to a door, and also the associated striker plate, the whole being viewed from the in-door side;

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view from the out-door side of the lock assembly and thestriker plate;

, FIG. 3 is a sectional side elevational view of the lock assembly, the bolt thereof being engaged with the striker plate;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view along line 4-4 in FIG. 3, and

FIG. 5 is a sectionalview along line 55 in FIG. 3.

"The lock shown in the drawings has a lock housing including an in-door side plate and an out-door side plate 11, each substantially rectangular in form, while each has formed integrally therewith an inward projection 12, hollowed from the outside to form a handle housing 13 of substantially elliptical form and a barrel housing 14 below and in communication with the handle housing 13. Formed integrally with each of the side plates 10 and 11 and with the inward projection 12 is a forward projection 15 of generally rectangular shape extending forwardly of the front of the side plate 10 or 11 and hollowed from its inner side.

The inward projection 12 of the out-door side plate 11 is formed with an integral inwardly-extending locating pin 16, and the inward projection 12 of the in-door side plate 10 is formed with a corresponding locating sleeve 17. The two side plates 10 and 11, oppositely arranged, may be aligned and brought together so that the locating pin 16 of the one engages the locating sleeve 17 of the other, whereupon a tongue 18 formed integrally with the front plate of the forward projection 15 of the indoor side plate 10 engages in a corresponding groove 19 in the front part of the forward projection 15 of the outdoor side plate 11, the hollowed interiors of the two forice- 2 ward projections 15 constituting a bolt housing 20 which is open at its bottom and has a slotted opening 21 in its lower inward or rear part.

A bolt 22 is vertically slidable in the bolt housing 20, its lower end being shaped obliquely in usual manner and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, and it is urged downwardly by a helical compression bolt spring 23 interposed between the top of the bolt 22 and the top of the bolt housing 29.

The lock assembly includes a substantially rectangular front plate 24 which is abutted against the front edges of the side plates 10 and 11, the aligned and interfitted front projections 15 passing closely through a rectangular opening 25 in the front plate 24. Below the opening 25 the front plate 24 is cut away at 26 to a lesser width for the bolt '22, and below this cut-away portion 26 a transverse cut is formed in the front plate 24 at 27, and therebelow the front plate 24 is shaped to form a recessed part 28 into which the lower end of the bolt 22 normally extends. The front plate 24 extends downwardly below the bottom of the side plates 16 and 11, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a finger-hole 29 is formed in the front plate 24 below the recess 28. v

:The bolt 22 is engaged by the forward end of an actuating lever 3i which extends through the slotted open ing 21 of the bolt housing 26 and into an aperture 31 formed from the inner or rear face of the bolt 22. The actuating lever 3d, at its rear end, is non-rotatably engaged upon a square-section shaft 32 which is rotatable in corresponding apertures in the inward projections 12 of the two side plates 10 and 11. To each end of the square-section shaft 32 a handle 33 is non-rotatably fitted and secured by a screw 34, the handles 33 being fully enclosed within the handle housings 13 of the side plates 10 and 11. When either of the handles is turned, the associated actuating lever is caused to lift the bolt 22 against the action of the bolt spring 23, and when the handle 33 is released the bolt 22 is returned by the action of the spring 23 to lowered or operative position, its downward movement being limited by a stop pin 35 formed integrally with the inward projection 12 of the out-door side plate 11, the actuating lever 30 being brought to bear against this pin 35. The lock assembly includes a latch 36 in the form of a shaped plate having at its rear end an integral rear wardly-extending guide pin 37 horizontally slidable in an aperture in a lug 38 formed integrally with the outdoor side plate 11. The latch 36 at its forward end is bifurcated and slidably engaged with a guide lug 39, formed integrally with the inward projection 12 of the out-door side plate 11. The lower arm of the bifurcated front end of the latch 36 constitutes a latch pin 40 adapted,'when the latch 36 is moved slidably forwards and the bolt '22 is in operative or lowered position, to engage in a hole 41 formed from the rear or inner face of theb'olt 221"" i i The latch 36 has formed in its underside a recess 42' which is closely engaged by an eccentric 43 formed inte-' grally at the inner end of a latch barrel 44 which is rotatable in a hole formed at 45 through the inward projection 12 of the indoor side plate 10 and in the coaxial barrel housing 14 of the side plate 10. At its outer end the latch barrel 44 is formed with an integral diametrical flange 46 by which it may be easily turned digitally to rotate the eccentric 43 so as to cause the latch 36 to be advanced forwards to operative position or retracted to inoperative position. 47 about the inner part of the latch barrel 44 prevents it from moving outwardly, and a stop 48 extending radially from the latch barrel 44 and engaging in a recess 49 formed in the part of the inward projection 12 enclosing A peripheral flange 3 the housing 14 for the latch barrel limits the rotational movement of the latch barrel 44 as shown in FIG. 5.

The latch 36 may be moved to inoperative position, from the out-door side of the assembly, only by means of a key engaged in a key slot 50 formed in a key barrel 7 about its inner end which abuts against the eccentric 43, so that the key barrel 51 is prevented from moving outwardly. An appropriate key, inserted into the key slot 50, will also engage in suitable recesses in the eccentric 43 so that by turning the key the eccentric will be turned to move the latch 36 to inoperative position or to operative position, as may be required. A stop 54 extending from the inner part of the key barrel 51 and engaging in a recess 55 in the part of the inward projection 12' enclosing the housing 14 for the key barrel 51 limits the rotational movement of said key barrel.

The lock may be fitted to the leading stile 56 of a sliding door which has first been appropriately cut away or recessed to receive the side plates and 11 and associated parts and the front plate 24, the sidefplates being secured in place by screws 57 passing through countersunk holes 58 near their rear corners, the front plate 24 being secured by screws 59 passing through counter-sunk holes 60 near its corners. v V p 7 The lock is adapted to coa'ct with a striker plate 61 consisting of a single sheet metal element formed with 4 stood that this particular exemplary embodiment of the invention may be subject to many minor modifications of constructional detail and design without departing counter-sunk screw holes 62 near its corners whereby it may be secured by screws to a wall or 'jamb or to the leading edge of another sliding door to which the leading stile 56 of the sliding door is advanced when said door is closed. Two transverse'cuts are formed in the striker plate 61 at 63, and between these cuts the metal of the striker plate is deformed to constitute a concavity 64 adapted to receive the interfitted front projections 15 enclosing the bolt housing 20. Below the lower of these transverse cuts 63, the metal of the striker plate 61 is deformed in the opposite direction to form an advanced or forwardly-projecting strike 65 such that, when the slidin; door is moved to fully closed position, the shaped bolt 22 will be brought against the strike 65 and thus be forced upwardly until it clears the top of the strike which is then received into the recess 28 of the front plate 24, the bolt 22 then moving downwardly to hold the strike 65 in place within the recess 28, so that the door is secured in fully closed position. The door may then be opened only by moving one of the handles 33 to cause the bolt 22 to be raised clear of the strike 63.

As no part of the lock assembly, including the side plates 10 and 11, the handles 33,.the latch barrel 44 and the key barrel 51, projects beyond the in-door and out-door faces of the sliding door, the door may be mounted in such a waythat it may be moved slidably 7 into a wall recess, into fully open position, in which case it may be easily and conveniently drawn towards closed position by means of a finger engaged in the fingerlhole 29 of the front plate 24.

While sliding doors as described and illustrated will be found to be very elfective in achieving the objects for which the invention has been devised, it will be underfrom the scope and ambit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

What I claimis:

1. A lock for a sliding door comprising, a housing adapted to be mounted in the door adjacent the leading edge thereof, said housing being formed by a pair of side plates having peripheral portions with surfaces flush with the sides of the door and with central portions which are spaced from each other to form a central cavity and are recessed to form handle pockets, said housing also including a portion which projects beyond the surface of said leading edge of ,the door and forms a bolt pocket with -a vertical opening, a bolt slidably mounted within said pocket with a projecting end positioned within said opening, a bolt-operating handle assembly comprising a shaft extending through said central cavity and a pair of handles positioned respectively within said handle pockets and rigidly mounted upon said shaft, said shaft being journaled to permit said handles to be rocked, a bolt-operating lever rigidly mounted upon said shaft and having an arm projecting into a recessin said bolt whereby the rocking movements of said handles produces sliding movements of said bolt, a coil spring positioned between a wall of the pocket and said bolt and urging said bolt into its projected position whereby the bolt may be moved to a retracting position against the action of said spring, a striker plate adapted to be mounted in a fixed position and in cooperative relationship with said lock, said striker plate having a projecting strike which is adapted to beiengaged by the projecting end of said bolt and to hold the door when said bolt is in its projected position and to release the door when said bolt is moved to its retracted position, a latch mounted within said central cavity and slidably mounted to move transversely of the surface of said leading edge of the door and having a bolt-engaging'portion which is adapted to move to and from a latching pocket in said bolt whereby the sliding of said bolt is prevented when said portion of said latch is positioned within said latching recess, and a rotatable latch-operating mechanism which is adapted to be turned through a predetermined arc to slide said latch to and from the bolt-latching position. i

2. A construction as described in claim Lwherein said latch-operating mechanism includes a key bar-rel and a key which is inserted therein for manual operation, 

